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A group of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) workers allegedly attacked and vandalised the office of Telugu news channel Mahaa News on Saturday, June 28, over its reporting against BRS working president KT Rama Rao. The BRS cadres were reportedly upset over Mahaa News journalists coverage alleging KTR’s involvement in the Telangana phone tapping case, in which senior police officers have been accused of orchestrating the illegal surveillance of prominent individuals opposed to the previous BRS regime.
State president of the party’s student wing Bharat Rashtra Samithi Vidyarthi (BRSV) Gellu Srinivas Yadav was held by the police over the incident. The BRS workers allegedly damaged office property and vehicles parked outside. An employee of Mahaa News who tried to stop was allegedly assaulted amid the vandalism.
Mahaa News Managing Director and journalist Marella Vamsi Krishna has written to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, the Press Council of India, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and other bodies seeking intervention over the matter.
In a recent discussion on Mahaa News, Vamsi said that it has been alleged that movie actors’ phones had also been tapped under the BRS government. “Answer why you tapped heroines’ phones, KTR,” the thumbnail said. According to reports, the BRS workers objected to Mahaa News insinuating a relationship between KTR and a film actor.
Some of the Mahaa News YouTube thumbnails shared by BRS members also insinuated that KTR allegedly demanded sexual favours from women actors by blackmailing them after tapping their phones.
Vamsi alleged that at around 1.30 pm on June 28, “a mob of more than 40 individuals, allegedly affiliated with the BRS party, forcefully entered our premises”.
They “vandalized office property, glass panels, furniture, and company vehicles; assaulted journalists, including our camera crew and editorial staff, with iron rods; raised aggressive and abusive slogans in the name of the BRS party; created an atmosphere of fear and threat to suppress our editorial voice,” Vamsi said.
He said the act was “in retaliation for our recent editorial reports that exposed certain uncomfortable truths.”
Terming the incident “an attack on the free press and democracy,” Vamsi urged authorities to take action against the perpetrators. “Ensure an impartial and centrally monitored investigation to prevent political interference. Establish mechanisms for journalist protection and safety of media institutions across India. Send a strong national message that such attacks on the press will not be tolerated,” Vamsi said.
Reacting to the incident, KTR told BRS workers that he would approach courts over the “shameless mudslinging” by the channel, urging them “to stay calm and trust the legal process.”
“I understand your agony, respect and your love for me and the party,” KTR said, alleging that “lies and slander [have] become mainstream” under the Revanth Reddy government.
CM Revanth Reddy condemned the attack and said, “Such attacks are not justifiable in a democracy.”
Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka said that he had personally reviewed the incident, and that police were gathering evidence to assure strict legal actions against the accused.
“Such inhumane and undemocratic acts strike at the core of our democratic values and media freedom. Mob violence has no place in a civil society and goes against the peaceful legacy of Hyderabad. We will not allow anyone to tarnish the image of Telangana with such disgraceful actions,” he said.
“In a democracy, media houses have every right to report and express views freely and fairly. Disagreements, if any, must be addressed through lawful and peaceful means not violence,” he added.